False
by nikkiglam666
Summary: This is a story of Beauty and the Beast, but with an odd twist. What if the enchantress was also the one to break the spell and win his love? Can a heartless woman give away the one thing she's missing? Her heart. WARNING: slightly dark and morbid O.o
1. Prologue

Prologue

_Once upon a time, in a faraway land, a young Prince lived in a shining castle… _

The moonlight streaked through the gnarly, dark trees, and painted the forest in silvery stripes. The figure moving through the branches and thorns was panting, the breaths going in and out were the only thing that disturbed the silence. She was wearing a dark cape, and when the hood fell after a jump over a particularly high branch, dark hair spilled over the cloth like a liquid being as it curled and straightened after every step. Her face was concealed within a black handkerchief tied around her mouth, and her silver eyes were shining. The breath puffed the handkerchief from her face, and you could see the flushed state of her cheeks.

_Although he had everything his heart desired the Prince was spoiled, selfish, and unkind. _The words kept on repeating in her head, until they were a sort of chant that kept her moving, moving towards her inevitable goal.

_But then, one winter's night, an old beggar woman came to the castle and offered him a single rose in return for shelter from the bitter cold_. Her eyes watered, and her heart pounded, but the thrill of excitement from the story was enough to make her forget the pain in her burning legs.

_Repulsed by her haggard appearance, the Prince sneered at the gift, and turned the old woman away_, _but she warned him not to be deceived by appearances, for beauty is found within. _Her forehead glistened with sweat and her mouth felt sticky, but she pushed on as her head clouded with images formed by the words.

_And when he dismissed her again, the old woman's ugliness melted away to reveal a beautiful Enchantress. _The fact that she had almost arrived at her destination registered vaguely in her mind, but the story was more gripping, and had she not been running she would still be out of breath because of each riveting word.

_The Prince tried to apologize, but it was too late, for she had seen that there was no love in his heart._ The dirt path could be seen through the branches, and she dimly thought that centuries of searching had finally led to this single place.

_And as punishment, she transformed him into a hideous beast, and placed a powerful spell on the castle, and all who lived there. Ashamed of his monstrous form, the beast concealed himself inside his castle, with a magic mirror as his only window to the outside world_. The sun wasn't up just yet, and the streets were empty as the entire town slept. She walked slowly and dreamily through, her breath calming, as the words repeated in her head.

_The rose she had offered was truly an enchanted rose, which would bloom for many years. If he could learn to love another and earn her love in return by the time the last petal fell, the spell would be broken_. She could hear a single bird chirping, too early for the rest of the others to join, but it was though its eagerness could no longer be contained. She felt the same way.

_If not, he would be doomed to remain a beast for all time. As the years passed, he fell into despair, and lost all hope_. She spotted the empty cottage which she was destined to walk into, and for once the words playing over in her brain seemed dimmer compared to real life.

_For who could ever learn to love a Beast? _She smiled, and was surprised that she even knew how, since she hadn't done so in so long. It was by no means a sweet smile, but so sinister that any normal human would have trouble looking her in the eye if they had ever seen it. Before going inside, she withdrew a small, black leather mask that revealed nothing but her silver eyes and slipped it on over her face under her handkerchief.

_For who could ever learn to love a Beast? _Then she turned the lock with a key strung on a piece of string and wrapped tightly around her thumb.

_For who could ever learn to love a Beast? _She swung the door shut heavily behind her as she walked in and took in the sight of the old man with a long beard and giant glasses. He didn't look up from staring at his hands.

"What is it that you would like from me, Ceana?"

This time she didn't smile, though her eyes seemed to grow brighter with mirth.

_Who indeed._


	2. Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

Ceana looked at the old man she had once considered her mentor, and couldn't help but think that the irony of the situation was laughable. His eyes looked like those belonging to a bumble bee, and the thin curve of his mouth was set in a permanent frown. Despite the state of his frazzled white hair and long beard, he was actually a neurotic old man who couldn't sleep at night if everything wasn't laid out in order. Ceana couldn't believe she'd ever had to learn anything from him, or that she'd ever thought him to be wise.

"Solon," she said, her voice even and level. Betraying emotion was not the way of the Enchants. However, in order to gain his help, she would probably need to display some warmth. With a sigh, she sat down on the ground, crossing her legs under skirts and shedding her dark cloak. Underneath it was an equally dark dress- for Enchants weren't meant to be detected. Which, unfortunately, made her nocturnal since she could only travel with the cover that only night provided.

"I would think," she started again, "that by now, you would know why I'm here."

Solon laughed humorlessly, still staring down at his hands. He was twiddling his thumbs, and Ceana felt her anger spike.

"Ah, you've come to break your mother's curse, have you?"

He laughed again, and she had to remind herself that he wouldn't be useful to her dead.

"Well, you might think it's humorous," Ceana said, glaring at him angrily. "And yet I don't wish to end up insane and all alone without a stray thought towards anyone else's well-being."

He laughed again, this time looking up from his wrinkled thumbs that still didn't cease moving.

"You know what you are," Solon said, his glassy purple eyes shining. "You are an Enchantress, my dear. Nothing will change that. And, just for your information, you are also incapable of love. That was your

Grandmother's punishment- so now it's yours as well. I don't think that you need to hear this story yet again, but-"

"I know exactly who I am, Solon."

Ceana's face was getting hot and her blood was boiling with anger.

"I could foresee this, you know," she said, spitting at Solon like an angry cat. "Which is why I have made preparations to change my fate once and for all."

For once, Solon looked truly surprised.

"I have decided to recreate it all."

When no answer came from the old man across the room as he stared astonished into her eyes, she decided to elaborate.

"Two years ago, I found just the sort of selfish prince I need," Ceana said, her anger at Solon subsiding. "I placed the curse on his castle and all who lived there, and have waited patiently while the rose slowly approached its death. I can go in now and win his heart. It doesn't matter how, and if I let my affections bloom then I'm sure that love will develop. My curse will be broken, along with his, and we'll all go on our merry way."

When the old man still didn't speak up, she felt the anger start to come back, and that made her even angrier. Why did her Grandmother have to tamper with love? It was because of her that Ceana was without a mother in her childhood years. It was because of her Grandmother that she was forced to come to Solon for help in the first place. She didn't want to have issues with her emotions, because while the anger was natural for her, the inability to love was because of her Grandmother's curse. She thanked her mother that the woman was no longer alive. Ceana had heard stories of her shamed family and her Grandmother's murder committed by her own daughter. All the same, she didn't really feel embarrassed as a child since she never really met her mother anyway. She had always convinced herself that the curse would leave her alone because she wasn't like her relatives. Yet here she was. Not only was she an Enchantress, but also an Enchant. While Enchantresses would have powerful magic and all the other specialties, Enchants were assassins. They were also the highest sort of magical ranking you could get, since most weren't ruthless enough to do what the job entailed on a daily basis. They also weren't committed enough to make the necessary sacrifices. But since the rest of her family were all pretty much murderers, Ceana figured she just had it in her genes. Feeling the bite of a spider on her hand, she came back to the present. As she was absentmindedly tearing the furry creature apart, she realized that Solon was wheezing. After a quick glare, he finally calmed down enough to breathe out a single sentence.

"What-wh-what h-have you done?"


End file.
